What are you reading?

[paotale]

Also, recently finished 阿蹦的酒馆　狗子

[skylee]

Because of the discussion of the film in the movie forum, I have started to read 金陵十三釵. I couldn't find a copy on the internet, but found on the Android Market an app featuring this book. This copy seems to be quite short, only 74 pages long. Should be able to finish it quickly.

[skylee]

I have just finished reading 金陵十三釵. Despite all the typos in the copy I read, it was a good read. And it was really short.

[michaelS]

Ma Boyong, City of Silence (马伯庸, 寂静之城). Short story in which actual speech is censored in the same way as the web. Online here (in English, I'm sure you can read it in Chinese somewhere too): Part 1 Part 2

[muirm]

Quick update on my progress: I finished the first half of 书剑恩仇录! I haven't been reading quite as much time-wise compared with 古龙, but I think it is mainly because it's harder to maintain focus with more challenging material. I really like how the emperor himself is entwined in the plot; his presence adds an undeniable gravity to the storyline. The battle scenes are cool too, but can border on tedious if they stretch on for too long (thinking in particular of the three-sided battle at 铁胆庄 near the beginning).

Let's see if I can pick up the pace for the second half.

[heifeng]

I was reading 曹禺剧本选 while recently traveling and finished 雷雨 & 日出。 However 日出 left me so depressed I don't know if I want to read the last play in the book right away which is 北京人 However, that being said, 日出 definitely left an impression and was a very good read. Here's a little more about that play, taken from Baidu here. It's definitely a page-turner...even if you know the outcome isn't going to be good.

　　《日出》以30年代具有中国特色的半封建半殖民地都市天津为背景，以"交际花"陈白露的华丽客厅和翠喜所在的三等妓院“宝和下处”为具体地点，展示了“有余”和“不足”两个社会阶层完全不同的生存状态，实现了对“损不足以奉有余”的社会的揭露。全剧共四幕，其时间分别为：黎明，黄昏，午夜，凌晨。作品主要描写了三类人物：一是受五四新文化影响而在社会上发生不同变化的青年学生，如堕落为交际花的陈白露、仍然向往光明的方达生二是"有余者"的代表和附庸，如银行家潘月亭、大丰银行襄理李石清、富孀顾八奶奶、面首胡四、打手黑三、洋奴张乔治、大旅馆茶房王福升以及没出场的恶霸金八等；三是社会底层的“不足者”，如妓女翠喜、被银行抛弃的小职员黄省三、不幸落入黑社会之手的小东西等

[heifeng]

Oh yeah--and one more thing I am adding here (since people seem to find/share some reading suggestions here as well) is an old reading list of 100 titles that I randomly stumbled upon while clearing out my school things over the holidays. Anyway, I remember this handout was a 'recommended' reading list from a class long ago.... So, for those of you looking for some additional reading material--some of which have already been discussed on the Forums in fact, then perhaps this will be helpful. Now that I've re-discovered it, I think I'll work on some of these over the year

Chinese Reading List.pdf

[muirm]

Finished 书剑恩仇录 today. The second half was definitely more exciting (张召重那个奸贼太不要脸了!), although I felt like the ending sort of fizzled. On another note, am I the only one who thought the random packs of wolves running around the desert was a little ridiculous? They weren't a very believable adversary in my mind.

Now I think I am going to read something by 余华 since there is a lot of forum activity about him. I stopped by the bookstore today in Taipei, but they didn't have 活着 so I got 许三观卖血记, about which I also remembered reading a favorable thread.

[imron]

I didn't find them that unbelievable but I was disappointed after reading 狼图腾 to learn that wolf poo doesn't actually create lots of smoke when you burn it, thus destroying one of the plot points.

[Lu]

I finished the Murong Xuecun book, it got more depth as the story progressed. The ending surprised me and I don't really get it. Can't elaborate without a serious spoiler, but if anyone else has read it and understands, I'd be interested in your views. All in all a rather good book.

Now reading 三毛, 撒哈拉的故事. So far it's a nice read, 三毛 comes across as a little naive but sympathetic.

[skylee]

I am reading 我等不到了by 余秋雨,which I bought last time when I was in Beijing. Finished Part one on the plane today, and so far so good.

[michaelS]

I'm just coming to the end of Mo Yan - Garlic Ballads (in English). Very good

[muirm]

Finished 许三观卖血记 today. It was a hot knife through butter compared to 金庸! The book itself was interesting enough, and I feel that I successfully gained some insight into that period of Chinese history, but I don't expect I'll be reading any more by this author in the near future.

Now I'm back to 金庸, my spork and frozen butter fare. Next up is 碧血剑, I can't wait!

[skylee]

but I don't expect I'll be reading any more by this author in the near future.

Why not? (I am interested in people's views on this writer.)

[imron]

Next up is 碧血剑, I can't wait!

This is my favourite 金庸 novel out of the ones I've read (though I didn't like the ending). It's a bit slow in the beginning, but gets going once 袁承志 moves to Huashan and starts learning Kungfu.

[muirm]

The main reasons I won't be going back to 余华 any time soon are:

1. His writing is a bit too simple. I don't feel like I learned enough new words for it to count as a worthwhile expenditure of my Chinese language learning time.
   
2. #1 wouldn't be a problem if I absolutely loved the book, but 许三观卖血记 did not really engage me as a reader. As yonglin mentioned, the characters are oversimplified, lacking the depth needed to connect with the reader. I did gain some insight into recent Chinese history through this book, but that was not enough to make it enjoyable overall. I'm certainly no literati, though, so take my critique with a grain of salt.
   

In short, I'm reading Chinese books to improve my Chinese and for enjoyment. This book (and based on the various threads, the author's other books as well) did not help me achieve either of my goals.

[linxia73]

The book I have been read is Lin Yu Tang < Sheng Huo De Yi Shu> 生活的艺术。Has any other people like 林语堂？

[muirm]

I finished the first half of 碧血剑 yesterday. I'm definitely enjoying it a little more than 书剑恩仇录, mainly because: it has a clearer main-character to root for; we got to see the main character grow up and actually learn his kungfu, which was fun; and the story involved a 秘笈 (or 秘籍?), which is something I've been waiting for. My main criticism so far is the abundance of extremely coincidental occurrences (often bordering on deus ex machina) used to drive the plot forward. At least the author can use these surprises to keep the thread of the story woven tightly, though, since these "surprises" are often that new characters turn out to have some association with past characters/events the hero has experienced, helping to keep things tied together.

[feihong]

Just finished Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy (Chinese name: 燃烧的女孩). It was a pretty good science fiction novel. Not terribly easy for me, but at 344 pages it wasn't very long. I ended up adding at least 30 new characters to my flashcard set. Next up: Mockingjay, the last book in the trilogy! Hopefully I can finish it before the first movie comes out on March 23.

[skylee]

秘笈 (or 秘籍?)

秘笈.